Graduate Admissions - Technical Communication & Rhetoric

How to Apply - MA and PhD

Admission to one of our graduate programs is based on a holistic assessment of the
promise for completing the requirements for the degree and match of the student's
interests with the program's strengths. Materials reviewed include your writing sample,
statement of interest, and letters of recommendation as well as GPA and GRE scores.
GRE scores neither ensure admission nor automatically disqualify an applicant. For
a good, general overview to the application process, please read Dr. Angela Eaton's article, which appeared in a recent issue of the journal Technical Communication.

The program offers four graduate degrees: Master of Arts in Technical Communication (on-campus and online) and Doctor of Philosophy in Technical Communication and Rhetoric (on-campus and online). Application procedures are virtually identical across these
four degrees. Where there are differences, they will be noted below.

Overview

Submit the following materials to the Office of Graduate Admissions at Texas Tech University by the appropriate application deadline (see right):

Graduate Application for Admission form

Official transcripts of all previous college work

Official and current scores on the verbal and quantitative reasoning portions of the
GRE Test, . Texas Tech's GRE code is 6827 and the Department Code is 2599 (English)

Submit the following materials to the Director of Graduate Studies in TCR electronically
by the appropriate deadline (see below):

Submit the completed form and official transcripts of all previous college work to
the Graduate School. You may also apply online (select the "Admissions" link and choose the appropriate application form).

A nonrefundable graduate application fee of $50 is required for all U.S. citizens
and permanent residents of the United States. The fee for international students is
$60 unless they were undergraduates at Texas Tech, in which case they pay the domestic
application fee of $50. This fee must be submitted with the Graduate Application for
Admission to Texas Tech and is required before the application can be processed. You
may also want to review the TTU Graduate School Catalog.

Note: Any graduate student who has been admitted to the Graduate School but who for any
reason has dropped out for 3 consecutive semesters (one or both summer terms count
as a single semester) will be required to pay the regular admission fee for readmission.
This change will apply to a student who, for example, has been admitted for fall 2012
but decides to delay their attendance to fall 2013. This student will need to reapply
and pay the appropriate fee ($50 for domestic students and $60 for international students)
for the readmission application for fall 2013.

Program Details

When the technical communication faculty looks over your application materials, your
writing sample, statement of intent, and letters of reference have a huge impact on
the way we perceive you. Materials bound for the program should be sent via email
to english.tc@ttu.edu:

Deadlines for Application

We look at applications twice a year with deadlines of August 1 and January 5. If you do not have a complete application by the deadline, you do not have to re-apply;
we will move your folder to the next period. Please note that if you are applying for a funded position (i.e. on-campus student with a teaching
assistantship), your application must be submitted by January 5th, as we only evaluate
funded applications once a year.

Statement of Intent

This statement, which identifies your goals for graduate study, should be approximately
500-1000 words long and should indicate the reasons for your interest in graduate
study and explain your career objectives.

For doctoral students, if you can define your research interests for the dissertation,
please do so.

Workplace experience (MATC)

Experience in the field is a good predictor of success in the program. Although we
have not established a minimum amount of workplace experience, we prefer for applicants
to have at least two years' experience in some form of professional communication,
which should be indicated either on your program application or in an enclosed resume.

Taking a break from studies (Online PhD)

We have not established a minimum amount of time between your master's coursework
and your application to this program, but we prefer for applicants to have at least
two years' distance from their most recent formal graduate work. Please note that
this hiatus is not a requirement, but a preference, and the program will hold no bias
for or against applicants based on their most recent graduate work.

Writing Sample

The writing sample gives us a chance to see the way you think, organize information,
and produce essays and documents. It also indicates your fluency with the English
language and gives us a clue as to your experience with writing, editing, and revision.
We prefer to have an analytical or critical writing sample, as these genres reveal
a lot about the writer and help us make our admissions decision. Maximum length in
all cases is 10-20 pages (or 2000-4000 words).

For master's students only, if you do not have such a document, a more functional
writing sample will suffice (report, proposal, manual, or tutorial, to name a few
examples).

For doctoral students, this sample should be a graduate course paper or the equivalent
that demonstrates your ability to develop a thesis using research and analysis.

Letters of Reference

You are responsible for requesting the letters of reference. List the persons who
will write the letters on the application form, and ask these persons to send the
letters to the Director of Graduate Studies in Technical Communication and Rhetoric,
either in paper format or in electronic format to english.tc@ttu.edu. The letters
should address your likelihood of success in graduate school and beyond.

For doctoral students, "success" will usually have to do with your initiative, your
capability to produce scholarship, and your ability to think analytically.

For those of you applying to online degree programs, these letters should provide
evidence of your ability to work independently.

For those of you applying for teaching positions, your letters should discuss your
experience and/or potential for teaching

Teaching Appointments (on-campus applicants)

Doctoral students are usually awarded graduate part-time instructorships (GPTI positions)
to begin with their first semester. MATC students are usually offered MA apprentice
positions to begin with their first semester. Both the instructorship and the apprenticeship
includes a waiver of tuition and most fees. The stipend in 2012-13 for graduate students
falls between ~$13,250 (new MA students) and ~$15,250 (PhD students). Students may
accept scholarships and fellowships on top of this stipend. To apply, you simply check
the “yes” box on the application form, p. 1, question 6: “Do you want to apply for
a part-time instructorship?”

Apprentices will participate in the first-year composition program. Most GPTIs teach
first-year composition, but some who have completed the course in teaching technical
communication teach ENGL 2311 (sophomore technical writing). Some advanced doctoral
students in English teach sophomore literature or creative writing, depending on qualifications,
though students in TCR would probably not have these assignments. Writing Center positions
are also possible (1/4 time, combined with a 1/4-time teaching assignment). The usual
teaching load is 20 hours per week in each long term, but we have been able to offer
a 20-hour / 10-hour load to first-year students in the past several years and hope
to extend that in the future.

Distance Learning Agreement (all online applicants)

All online program applicants need to sign and return our Distance Learning Agreement, which indicates that you understand our requirements for technology, time, and honor.

Employer Commitment Letter (online PhD only)

This letter of commitment from your employer explicitly acknowledging that class and
May workshop attendance is obligatory. This letter must be signed and on company letterhead.
Your employer should indicate in this letter that they a) support your efforts to
complete the program, b) acknowledge the program will require you to attend online
classes one or two weekday evenings during normal semesters, and also to attend mandatory
two-week seminars in May of each year, an c) agree to give you the time and space
needed to attend classes, seminars, or any other required TCR activities. The idea,
of course, is that you and your employer need to be on the same page regarding this
lengthy endeavor.

General Note About Application Review

All applicant packages are evaluated holistically, which is to say that every piece
of the application package contributes to the applicant's overall desirability. Specifically,
we are looking for no specific GRE scores, GPA's, or resume experiences, but are instead
looking for applications that contain synergistic arguments for the applicant's good
fit with the program and its objectives.